The Root of All Trouble (21 page)

No one dared make fun of him.

"Like what?" I asked.

"
You know what."

I did know. I was meddling again. I needed to call Tam. It
'd be nice to run a check on Honey, too.

I was starting to feel like I was getting in over my head, and that Kevin might be right—I should stay out of this.

But I was already in so far...a little more couldn't hurt.

I hoped.

Bear and Ethan came out on the back deck, lit their cigarettes, and looked around. I stepped closer to Kit. "How's it going in there?"

"
Just about done," Kit said. "Plum called in an extra set of hands, a plumber, and that guy is finishing up in the basement. Between him and Bear and Ethan, the plumbing will be fixed today."

"
So Mario will be moved back in tonight?"

"
He better be."

I elbowed him.
"You know you love him."

Kit eyed my elbow. I took a small step away from him.

"He wears smelly cologne, eats smelly cheese, and he snores."

"
Louder than you?"

He stared.
"Don't you have work to do?"

I did.
"I need to make a call first." I started to walk away then turned back. "Did you happen to see Perry this morning? He was supposed to talk things over with Mario first thing today."

"
I saw him."

"
And?"

"
He left again."

I wrinkled my nose.
"Do you know where? Did they make up?"

"
He stomped off, hopped in his car, and peeled out, so my guess is no. But I think Mario's just playing hard to get, especially after he went on and on about Perry last night at dinner. Made me sick."

"
Right," I said. "Because you're made of stone."

"
Something like that," he said.

"
Right." I rocked on my heels. "When are you going to ask Ana to marry you, anyway?"

He snarled.
"Go away."

"
Just so you know, Saul has a nice selection of rings at The Gem Shop. Tell him I sent you and you can probably get the friends and family discount."

"
Go. Away."

Smiling, I walked off, found a relatively quiet corner, and called Tam. At this rate, I was going to be babysitting Nic for a month straight.

As soon as I hung up with her, I called Perry. He didn't answer, and I left him a message that I'd called to check on him, and if he wanted to talk then to call me. I hoped Kit was right—that Mario was just playing hard to get at this point. He'd definitely been wronged by Perry, so I didn't blame him for putting Perry through the paces, but enough was enough.

I checked on Gracie, who was sound asleep under the tree, and wondered how long I could hold out until I ran over to the county offices.

Since they didn't even open 'til nine, I had two hours to kill by actually working.

It was going to be the longest two hours of my life.

Chapter Nineteen

T
wo hours later, I was itching to go. I glanced around and wiped the sweat off my brow.

The yard had come a long way in a short time. Heavy equipment like a skid steer loader helped speed the process along. The yard had been properly graded, new soil had been brought in using the bobcat and placed in the planting beds, and the preparation for the paver patio was almost complete.

To someone unfamiliar with the process of a makeover, it looked a complete mess. But I could easily see that we were right on schedule.

Jean-Claude still hadn
't shown up, and I couldn't help but wonder how the hearing was going.

I walked over and checked on Gracie—she was still happily asleep. I thought for sure the vibrations from the equipment would startle her, but she was happily oblivious. All around her were the plantings the nursery had dropped off. I fingered one of the leaves of a star magnolia tree. It was past its bloom time now, but come next spring it would be beautiful. There were also two dogwoods as
well as a beech tree to plant.

I bent down to check out the yellow flowers
of the moonbeam coreopsis, and the tight buds on the wild blue indigo that would open in a few weeks. For a second, I was lost in the plants and the happiness they brought me. And for the first time in a long time I remembered why I loved my job so much.

A door slammed nearby and I glanced up just as Mr. Cabrera came out of his house and headed my way.

As soon as he spotted me, he tossed his hands in the air. "She's not answering my calls!"

"
Can you blame her?"

A bushy eyebrow shot up.
"Whose side are you on?"

"
Both of yours. You need to go over there and talk to her. Don't do it on the phone. And you better hurry—she has a flight scheduled for tonight."

His face puckered, and he said,
"Pah! I think I'll see if they need any help inside first." Turning, he walked away and went inside the house.

I wasn
't sure what his "pah!" meant, but I had a feeling it wasn't good. My heart sank, but I realized that if he was going to get her back, he had to do the rest on his own. I'd helped him as much as I could.

I found Kit again and told him I needed to run an errand. I wasn
't the least bit concerned leaving the yard under his control. Unfortunately, I couldn't leave Gracie under his watch. I brought her back to my house, settled her in the kitchen, safely behind a baby gate I used for her visits, and ran upstairs for a quick shower.

There was no way I was going to go see Cain Monahan while covered in a fine layer of dust and dirt.

I scrubbed the film from my skin and tried to tell myself that I hadn't completely lost my mind in seeking him out. But I knew I had. This was little more than a wild goose chase—and with a start I realized I was just as crazy as Maria. When we both had something stuck in our heads, it was hard to let it go.

For the millionth time since I met him, I silently thanked Perry for the easy-breezy haircut he
'd given me. I combed through the wet strands and pulled out the hair dryer for a quick blow out. Tossing a look at my makeup bag, I debated whether a little mascara would make me look like I was trying too hard and decided I didn't care. I even dabbed on some lip gloss.

Sue me.

To prove that I wasn't fluffing myself up, as Mr. Cabrera would say, I threw on an old pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. I ran downstairs, said goodbye to Gracie, slipped on a pair of sandals and hopped in my truck.

It was closing in on eleven—it had taken me a while to get ready. I
'd already let Ana know I was running late, but texted her now, too.
On my way.

She texted back almost immediately.
I'll be on the lookout
.

With jittery hands, I put the truck in reverse and slowly backed out of my driveway. As I drove toward the county offices, I tried to shake the feeling that my life was about to change forever...

But I couldn't quite manage it.

***

A
na met me in the front lobby. "I did a little scoping out, and no one knows much about Cain Monahan. He's only been working here a few months."

"
I have Tam on it," I said.

"
Good, good. The coroner's offices are on the second floor. Do you want me to come with you?"

"
I think I can do it on my own."

She studied me.
"Are you wearing lip gloss?"

"
Chapstick," I lied.

"
My ass," she said.

"
I'll check in with you when I'm done."

"
I can hardly stand the suspense," she said, rubbing her hands.

I decided that my whole family had issues. Trying to calm my nerves with deep breathing, I took the stairs to the second floor. Harsh overhead lighting illuminated the wide hallway, and I was surprised at how luxurious the decor was from the thick rug to the dark wood wainscoting.

The county must be doing well for itself.

Small signs hung by each door in the hallway, and I stopped at the one that designated the coroner
's office. My hand shook as I reached for the knob. I turned it and gave a little push.

There was no going back now.

The door opened into a small reception area, complete with four chairs, a coffee table, and a whole slew of magazines. A woman sitting behind a large wooden desk looked up when I came in.

"
May I help you?"

"
I'm here to see Cain Monahan."

She tapped on a keyboard.
"Did you have an appointment?"

I tried not to fidget.
"No, but he gave me his business card and told me to drop by any time if I had questions for him."

This was only a slight stretching of the truth— I was proud of myself.

"What is this in regard to?" she asked, looking me up and down and by the way her face turned stony, I barely passed muster.

I was glad I
'd washed off the dirt or else she probably would have called security by now.

"
The Joey Miller case," I said.

A look of recognition crossed her face.
"I'm sorry, but Investigator Monahan isn't in the office right now. He's down in the morgue. Do you want to wait for him here?"

"
Do you know how long he'll be?"

She shook her head.
"Sorry."

Disappointment flooded me.
"I'll come back later."

"
Do you want to leave your name? I can have him call you and set up an appointment. That's the best way to reach him," she said snottily.

"
Just tell him Nina Quinn stopped by."

She pasted on a fake smile.
"Will do."

I left the office dragging my feet and trudged my way downstairs. Ana paced the lobby, her heels clicking on the marble floor.
"He's in the morgue," I said.

Ana stared.
"So?"

"
So what? I didn't see him. And Ms. Snotty Pants doesn't know when he'll be back."

Ana placed her hands on my shoulders.
"Nina, just go down there."

Panic sluiced through me.
"Down where? The morgue?"

Eagerly, she nodded.

If I was the corpse whisperer, she was a corpse whisperer wannabe.

"
You're out of your ever-loving mind. I am not going down there. There are dead people down there."

"
Buck up! It's not as if you haven't seen dead people before. Up close and personal even."

She didn
't need to remind me.

"
Oh, come on," she said, grabbing my hand. "I'll go with you."

I allowed her to tug me along, only because I wanted to be done with this whole Cain Monahan mystery. To see the man
's eyes, I'd risk seeing a few dead bodies.

Dread built in the pit of my stomach as we walked down the stairs. Ana talked on and on—about what I couldn
't quite say. I'd tuned her out.

When she abruptly stopped in front of a door with MORGUE stenciled on a frosted glass pane, I started paying attention again.

"Do we knock?" I asked.

"
I don't know," she said.

Before we could figure it out, the door opened and a man in scrubs came out, holding the door open for us.
"Going in?" he asked.

I peeked inside and was relieved to see that it was some sort of anteroom with a desk, chairs, and a large opaque glass window. Not a toe tag to be seen.

Ana gave me a good shove. I didn't budge.

"
Yes, we are," she said.

He eyed us.
"Do you two need help?"

I couldn
't find my voice.

"
We're looking for Cain Monahan," Ana said.

"
You just missed him. He was just called out on an emergency, not even five minutes ago. If you hurry, you might be able to catch him in the parking garage. Our spaces are on the first floor, north."

"
Thanks!" Ana called and grabbed my arm. "I know a shortcut for employees only. This way."

She towed me along one corridor, then another. We zigged, we zagged, and finally she pushed open a heavy metal door leading into the garage.